National Assembly Pushes for Judiciary Improvement

The National Assembly (NA) has put forth a proposal for prosecutors and judges to be stricter in implementing their legal duties in an effort to build public confidence and trust in the government’s judicial bodies.

Attendance of third party intermediaries is included in the new instructions given to the court system in the belief this will increase the judicial system’s objectivity and fairness in judgment.

Chairwoman of the NA’s Committee on Justice, Dr Buakham Thipphavong, outlined the instructions while commenting on the proposal made by the Office of the Supreme Public Prosecutor (OSPP) and Supreme People’s Court.

In the report put forward during the session, the OSPP addressed some deficiencies in the system pertaining to judges’ and prosecutors’ obligation of observing the right to a fair trial.

The committee asked the OSPP and its branches at all levels to implement their obligations defined by the Law of the Public Prosecutor, enhancing ideological education, and ethical training, said Dr Buakham in a speech to the committee.

The NA committee called on the OSPP to enhance their coordinating mechanisms in order to avoid illegal interference and misunderstanding between concerned authorities.

The committee asked that the OSPP respect the law at all levels by following the proper procedures of collecting evidence, filing charges and building a criminal case to foster public confidence and trust in the system.

More than 37,000 court cases have passed through the system in the last five years, with 36,000 of them coming to a conclusion.

The NA committee praised the efforts and achievements made by the courts.

Meanwhile, the committee commented on the shortcomings of the Supreme People’s Court, such as misconduct of judges, which the committee head said minimised public confidence in the judicial system as a whole.

The committee called for court staff to be models in respecting and following the law by making decisions without bias and discrimination towards defendants.

The committee proposes that the Supreme People’s Court augments their overall respect for adherence to the laws of the judiciary by following the guidelines set forth in the proposal, Dr Buakham said.

Our plan marks a new phase in building public confidence, contributing to state and social management through law enforcement and ultimately moving towards a more prosperous and just society, she concluded.